1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a stackable container having vertical plastic walls and stiff flat bottom, made of wood or board, for example that is moreover mountable and demountable. It is assembled using two identical injected plastic modules and a flat stiff bottom held together through clamps and hinges injected in the same mold and pressure fitted by the user forming the stiff and demountable container with reinforcing contour edges.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Several techniques are known to manufacture containers, especially wooden drawers for closets or pieces of furniture, such as for example U.S. Pat. No. 4,960,223, that describes a “box crate” container comprising a base plate, two handle plates and two side plates, wherein said plates pivot inwardly to collapse to the container by means of two release bars that are respectively located within two “T” shaped grooves of the plates. As can be seen, this invention relates to the assembly of four side plates and one base plate and is thus more fragile when it collapses.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,855,291 describes a “Vehicle Cargo Restrainer” provided with a device to protect or secure articles and parcels within said restrainer that comprises an open rectangle to facilitate storage that is collapsible into a nearly flat configuration and comprises two handles for carrying it to a different place. Said restrainer can be used to fix or secure the articles carried in moving vehicles.
Spanish patent U 200301105 describes an independent sliding closet drawer characterized because it comprises in one piece the back and side walls of the drawer from 90° bevels on the plate that are folded at right angles to be joined with the front one through pins and blind holes with the positioning of the bottom part through grooves on the plate and the front part and placing moreover a crystal or plastic cover in the front.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,019,226 describes a multi-component demountable palletized container comprising a pallet bottom, four wall components that can be easily assembled and disassembled with rods and a top, each wall includes a pair of horizontal and vertical members that are overlapped at their ends and secured together, each wall and bottom being covered with a board. The vertical members define channels that receive assembly straps or clips having hooked ends that align to define a corner axis receiving the rods. The assembly of this container is mainly through rods at the corners to form the container.
The object of the instant invention is to provide a mixed container having plastic walls and a flat stiff bottom or base, made of wood, for example, wherein said walls are two identical flat modules assembled through pressure clamps and secured to the base through positioning guides and pressure securing elements.
The container is stackable and integrated by injected modules assembled onto a stiff base substrate and can be assembled without tools by the user and is designed for use in available spaces such as in closets, cupboards, shelves, bookshelves, pieces of furniture, storage areas, other office spaces or even directly on the floor because it is stackable.
The stackable container 10 FIG. 1 is a container that can be assembled or disassembled by the user, comprising the following assembly parts:                Square or rectangular flat base or bottom element 11 of the container;        Right wall injected flat module I placed at right angle upon being folded;        Left wall injected flat module II placed at right angle upon being folded;        Elements injected in the two modules I and II, clasp 13 and hinge 12, facilitating the assembly.        
The container 10 object of the instant invention is characterized wherein it presents two identical injected flat modules I and II (FIGS. 1 and 2) forming the wall sections a, b, c, d, e, f of the container, wherein each module shows respectively two folds, forming a belt having a smaller wall thickness to form a right angle section permitting the creation of the corners A, B, C and D of said container, each module comprises, respectively, at each one of its ends, male clamp elements 13 in FIG. 2, one placed in a vertical position of module I and the other placed in an horizontal position 13′ of module I, and upper pressure clamp 13″ while at its opposite end, there is a complementary female damp 16, 16′, and 16″ being said clamps injected as part of the module itself The two modules forming the container are assembled and secured through the clamp mechanism.
In the upper end of the module, on its contour, there is a semi-tubular reinforcing profile element 14, said profile having a larger volume compared to the volume forming the container walls, and offering a greater stiffness presenting moreover said profile in each one of the folds forming the corners A, B, C, and D recessed sections 19, FIG. 10, at a 45° angle. Moreover, the module shows at its lower end a horizontal “U” shape groove 21, FIG. 6, acting as guide element for the assembly of the bottom base 11 of the container.
The guide or groove 21 presents in each module I and II two tab-type injected projections 22, FIG. 6, comprising of a lug 29 acting as a pressure element to secure the bottom base 11 in a groove 24, FIGS. 3 and 8, located in the back part of said bottom without crossing it.
Each module also comprises a belt section of minor thickness acting as injected hinge 12, FIGS. 6, 9, 10, and said hinges are located at each one of the container corners, respectively, permitting the formation of four corners A, B, C, and D upon joining two folded corners of modules I and II and upon forming their corners, they generate a pressure among them increasing thus the contact and stiffness of a wall with the other and generating, a precise consistent assembly. The container walls 23, formed by A, B, C, and D also presents semi-convex areas 20 of low embossing to reinforce the structural stiffness of said container that upon manufacturing it in a flat mold permits to offer the requested texture and decoration finishes.
The container base bottom 11 is a stiff material substrate, preferably, plywood or flat stiff material, for example plywood, wood, plastic material or agglomerated material. The front part of the container base permits that the convex part of the wall 23 cooperates with the upper structure of the wall to form a handle 18, moreover in the opposite side, i.e., the back part, another handle 17 is also formed.
The assembly of the container is performed in the following way:
The two extended modules I and II, FIG. 8, are joined;
The bottom base 11 is inserted in the lower groove 21, FIG. 6, of the wall e) securing it with the tab 22 in the bottom groove 24 FIG. 3 (see FIGS. 8-9);
Walls d) and c) are folded and the side of the bottom is inserted into the groove 21, securing it with the tab 22 in the corresponding groove 24;
Wall b) is folded, securing it in the same way;
Thereafter, wall a) is folded and wall f) is folded till the assembly is complete, the contour of the container being joined both through clamps 13, 13′ and 13″, FIGS. 1 and 11, as well as through the lower part of the container, with tabs 22 in the bottom grooves 24, FIG. 3.
The clamp 13 is a securing element integrated by two sections, a male-type section in the shape of an injected rectangular box having, in its middle part and along the box a “U” shaped channeled element 25, FIGS. 2 and 7, in the upper end of which a lug 27 is placed to constitute the closure, being the other section a female-type top element 16 having a shape corresponding to the groove 26 FIG. 2 with the “U” channeled element, of the other section, being accommodated to close the clamp through simple manual pressure, 28 (pin).
The upper clamp 13″, FIG. 6, is a closing complement of the upper profile of modules I and II though a lug element 30 that accommodates itself through pressure in an inverted “U” shape covering.
In the lower end of each container corner, small fin-type injected projections 15 are placed that connect, for stacking purposes, in stepped openings located on the upper corners A, B, C, and D of the container forming aligned cabinets, either for household purposes or for offices.
Characteristically, the container material must have a folding capability of up to 270° because it has to be bent 180° for packaging purposes and then it has to recover its shape till a 90° position in the opposite sense to form a corner. The indicated sizes are the optimum ones for a household closet but obviously said sizes can be modified for containers having other purposes.
Modules I and II can be translucent, transparent or opaque and of any color and can be manufactured in several combinations together with the bottom colors or materials to adapt to the users taste.
While the invention has been illustrated and described as embodied in a mountable and demountable stackable container, it is not intended to be limited to the details shown, since it is well understood that various omissions, modifications, substitutions and changes in the forms and details of the container illustrated and in its operation can be made by those skilled in the art without departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention.